Cranial cavity, meninges etc

Question 1

1. What is the vault and base?

Answer 1

Vault: upper part of cranium
Base: lower part of cranium

Question 2

2. What bones form the cranial base?

Answer 2

Fifteen irregular bones form the cranial base: three singular bones lying in the midline (mandible, ethmoid, and vomer) and six paired bones occurring bilaterally (maxilla; inferior nasal concha [turbinate], zygomatic, palatine, nasal, and lacrimal bones).

Question 3

3. What is bregma and lambda?

Answer 3

Bregma: meeting pointing of coronal and sagittal sutures
Lambda: meeting point of sagittal and lambdoid sutures

Question 4

4. What is bregma and lambda called in infants?

Answer 4

Bregma: anterior fontanelle
Lambda: Posterior fontanelle

Question 5

5. What are granular foveola?

Answer 5

These are pits on either side of the sagittal sulcus. Also known as arachnoid granulation where CSF is absorbed

Question 6

6. What is the pterion and its clinical significance?

Answer 6

It is where the 4 bones meet (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital). It is the weakest part of the skull and if damaged can cause epidural hematoma (middle meningeal artery ruptured)

Question 7

7. What are the three anterior cranial fossa and what are their contents?

Answer 7

Crista Galli, Cribriform plate of ethmoid, and dural extension